On Saturday November 15, 2003, War in the Pacific National Historical Park Facility Manager Ronald D. Wilson known as “Ron” passed away at the age of 57. Ron will be remembered in the hearts of his wife Colleen, his daughter Tama, son Joshua and by his friends and National Park Service family.
For nearly thirty years, Ron worked with the United States Government. He served with the Navy Seabees for twenty years retiring as Federal Building Inspector. He received an Associate of Arts Degree in Construction Engineering. During his military service, Ron received various military commendations including a combat service medal and unit commendation for his actions in Vietnam. Ron later became a lifetime member of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
After retiring from the U.S. Navy, Ron continued to serve in several management positions with the Federal Government for another ten years. He served as Construction Representative/Federal Building Inspector with the Western Division Naval Facilities in California and for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Engineering Center in Denver, and as Facility Manager, Northwest Biological Science Center in Seattle, Washington.
While working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service he received a monetary award for his creative redesign of special projects successfully saving the U.S. Government $100,000.
Ron joined the National Park Service in July 1997, as Facility Manager for the War in the Pacific National Historical Park (NHP). As Facility Manager Ron managed the maintenance division and served as Contracting Officer. His work included management and care of park facilities, roads and trails, utilities, construction, historic structure maintenance, health and safety, environmental compliance, rehabilitation and disaster preparedness. He supervised park staff, the community service work program and participants in the Agency for Human Resource Development. Park official Rose Manibusan recalls her experience working with Ron, “When Ron enters a room you can’t help but notice his strong presence. His enthusiasm was contagious. He was a take-charge manager who took initiative, using creative and innovative approaches to accomplish work with limited resources without compromising the quality of a project. His wealth of experience has been invaluable in the development of the park”.
In December 1997, Ron’s leadership abilities became the driving force that helped the park recover from the damages caused by Typhoon PAKA. He was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the Director, Pacific West Region for his leadership in overseeing the restoration and rehabilitation of the park, assessing resource damage and securing emergency funds for the park. For these efforts he was also awarded an Outstanding Employee Award signed by Congressman Robert Underwood, Guam’s Representative to Congress. In 1999, in anticipation of President Clinton's visit to Guam, Ron worked with the Secret Service in planning his visit and in the improvement of park resources.
Ron left the park in January 2000 after applying for and selected for a higher-grade position at Capitol Reef National Park in Utah.
As Facility Manager and Chief of Maintenance, he oversaw maintenance operations and construction of all park facilities that included approximately 60 buildings, both historic and non-historic. He served as Contracting Representative, ensured compliance regulations were met, interpreted, reviewed specifications and construction drawings for new development to ensure cost effectiveness and efficiency.
In July 2002, the Facility Manager position at War in the Pacific became vacant. Ron applied for the position, was rehired and returned to Guam with his wife Colleen on January 2003. Upon his arrival to Guam, Ron found himself in the midst of another park disaster, helping the park recovery from the devastating effects of Typhoon Pongsona. The extensive damage forced park staff to close its Visitor Center and seek temporary office and storage space.
Ron took the task at hand and immediately worked with the Superintendent in planning for the restoration, recovery, and rehabilitation of the park as well as improvements to the maintenance facilities to relocate temporary offices.
Both Rita and Jim Powell worked directly with Ron over the years and shared their experience with him. Jim stated, “Ron Wilson was not only my boss, but a dear friend and mentor. He not only had a “can do” philosophy, he had a “will to do” and got things done regardless of the task. For Ron, everything was possible. The impossible just took a little bit longer. He dedicated his life to the National Park Service. He was my/our friend and our family will miss him dearly”.
Rita emotionally stated, “Ron was not just a Facility Manager. Ron was a true friend, a person that lifted the spirits of everyone that he met. Ron has done so much…so much for the park…for those visiting our park units, they too will benefit from all of Ron’s accomplishments. Ron was, and is a true friend, and he will be greatly missed by me and my children”. Ron’s work extended beyond Guam as he also managed the maintenance operations on Saipan. He recently became involved in the review process, environmental compliance and recommendations for the construction planning for the new Visitor Center at the American Memorial Park. He prepared the parks 10-year plan for Maintenance and the 5-year repair/rehab program for both the American Memorial Park and the War in the Pacific. Ron has also assisted management in the short and long term planning of the parks’ natural/cultural resources.
Throughout his career with the National Park Service Ron has time and time again demonstrated his professionalism, commitment, dedication and genuine concern for park resources. Over his career he had received numerous monetary awards, quality performance, special achievement and outstanding employee awards. We were grateful for the opportunity to work with Ron. He served as an inspiration and a reminder that one individual can make a difference. Here at the War in the Pacific Ron made a difference. Ron is a part of the National Park Service family and we will miss him. Ron helped shape the park, and we will not forget his work here.
